Grasshoppers are most easily controlled at which life stage?

Grasshoppers are most easily controlled at which life stage?

• A. Egg
• B. Nymph
• C. Adult
• D. Pupa

Answer: (B)

Grasshoppers undergo incomplete metamorphosis: eggs hatch into nymphs, which molt into winged adults. The egg stage is tucked in the soil and is hard to reach with typical treatments. Adults can fly and move far, making them hard to catch with sprays or baits. Nymphs, especially in the early molts, stay near the ground where treatments are most effective, have softer bodies that are more susceptible to contact insecticides, and they can’t fly away yet. Controlling them at this stage prevents them from reaching reproductive adults and reduces future population growth. Note that grasshoppers do not have a pupal stage.

Grasshoppers undergo incomplete metamorphosis: eggs hatch into nymphs, which molt into winged adults. The egg stage is tucked in the soil and is hard to reach with typical treatments. Adults can fly and move far, making them hard to catch with sprays or baits. Nymphs, especially in the early molts, stay near the ground where treatments are most effective, have softer bodies that are more susceptible to contact insecticides, and they can’t fly away yet. Controlling them at this stage prevents them from reaching reproductive adults and reduces future population growth. Note that grasshoppers do not have a pupal stage.